NightTalk with Gugu Mhlungu

Statements made in heat of the moment about Fees Must Fall protests raise questions about South African society.

An on-air conversation about the #FeesMustFall protest at the University of Cape Town sparked a sobering conversation about the economic and psychosocial divide among South Africans, with one listener labelling Pippa Hudson's position on the matter was "insufferable".

It's always been the case that there was one of three things you could do if you wanted to go to university... Either your parents paid, or you you studied part-time or you borrowed the money and went to university...

— Clint, via email

I borrowed money and paid it back at over 20% interest rate... Your outrageous assertion that people must have their universities paid for and subsidised in a country which is in a grave economic situation is insufferable...

— Clint, via email

Pippa clarified that as much as she doesn't condone violence, she doesn't believe people should be denied education based on their background.

I utterly reject the concept that the accident of your birth determines whether you deserve the right to tertiary education... I'm not saying university should be free; I can't in any way say I condone what happened on campus but it breaks my heart that we're still having this conversation...

— Pippa Hudson, CapeTalk presenter

Pippa's colleague, Koketso Sachane, called in to put the debate in the broader South African socio-economic context.

The argument that 'I worked very hard' or that 'your parents can pay for it'... really shows the lack of understanding by some people when it comes to what the majority of South Africans have lived and continue to live...

— Koketso Sachane, 702/CapeTalk presenter

Do people understand that the majority of the parents of those in university either do not have the money or they are living in debt because of the background that they come from and do not have the ability to pay for their kids' education?

— Koketso Sachane, 702/CapeTalk presenter

The argument that 'I worked very hard for it' in some way means that they do not believe that the parents of those kids - or those kids themselves - would work hard if they had the opportunity to work hard. All of these arguments show the complete ignorance to the suffering of people and it all comes from the history we've lived in this country...